Bamboo Creative OUTREACH – sharing knowledge and skills to developing regions
‘Developing’/post-colonised regions are developing FAST – moving more and more towards cement and tin/tile roof (and air-conditioners) and AWAY from traditional natural materials… Supposedly “modernising”… and moving away from “the land” while we ‘westerners’ are going the Opposite way (or those who can afford the luxury, now having hindsight and realisation of the beauty, peace and simplicity we lost through Industrialisation). And while WE yearn for more natural and unique handcrafted lives, THEY (people in developing countries) seem to be or ARE gearing towards more mass production and consumerism. Ordinarily, people in developing countries live on about 20% of the consumption rate of ‘westerners’ (including electricity).. but soon the energy needs and generation of waste in developing countries where more than 70% of the world’s population lives are going to be off-the-chart ... unless we work together to innovate and create change!
Restoring the balance…
Outreach Development & Local Programs
Our Focus is on Designing and Building cost-effective bamboo structures which are attractive and affordable for/to people living in post-colonised countries and for those who generally can not afford the more elaborate styles of bamboo building common in popular/ modern architecture and who are interested to learn to build themselves.
This program is starting a our Bamboo Training Courses and Online Learning Course so our members in remote locations can learn and share the information and online training materials we have so far consolidated. We would love your support and contribution towards the ongoing study and practical processes for making affordable bamboo design accessible to local populations and contributing to a Regenerative culture of inclusion, transparency and fairness.
Our current focuses:
- Traditional Bamboo Treatment plant and investigating the process and economic viability of treating bamboo using Traditional Treatment methods of fermentation /leeching as practiced by previous generations in cultures akin with bamboo
- Designing and Building cost-effective bamboo structures which are attractive and affordable for/to people living in post-colonised countries who generally can not afford the types and styles of bamboo building common in popular modern popular architecture – Through collaborating with local families in building ecological bamboo home-stay places able to host visitors and program participants.
- Mangroves and Fisheries management and ecology – Circular Economy generation through facilitating workshops to bring fishery silviculture technology from local Research Institutions to the mangrove communities covering 400 hectare of mangrove wetlands between Bali’s International Airport and Benoa Bay/Nusa Dua Peninsula.
- Making fishery ponds using a synthesis of modern research technology and traditional bamboo materials, – training local fisherman in the skills of cultivating fish for the mangroves.
- Facilitating workshops with Plastic Exchange to encourage youth in the communities around the peninsula to get involved in Mangrove Habitat rehabilitation and Fisheries Management
- Employing and Training Fisherman to become teachers in our bamboo programs and seed entrepreneur mangrove-based projects based on circular economy principles
We focus on creating personalised programs from Apprenticeship (Hands-On group builds) to Internship (Skill & Technical design) and VIP level programs. Whether you prefer learning in a group or one-on-one environment,
Learn from Local bamboo experts and stay with a local families and contribute to our bamboo school dorm (still in progress) being built alongside our course programs – to help further Regenerative development and Appropriate design and access to technology for nature-based living with bamboo in our local communities.
Collabor-art-ative Adventures – Are you interested in collaborating with us? Get in touch!
Online Bamboo Program
Study and Learn online about Bamboo – be part of our Facebook Group and see progress happening on our bamboo structures and projects and when you can join us in Bali; our programs take you through the hands-on construction processes of building a bamboo room/small “home-stay” building… Our Online Course: Includes access to our online group to follow our Bamboo Build and Learning Program and Facebook Group with access to our past course recordings and videos. Enquire Now to become part of this program.
Join our Facebook group for updates on our current builds. The group is free; www.facebook.com/groups/5443799475664816/?ref=share
* see our Facebook page for updates. Our programs are available for people of all abilities and neurodiversities.
USD$110! Includes 30% discount coupon for your in-person course valid until December 2025 and Lifetime Membership of the Facebook Paid Course Group.
Funds are used to collate course content and videos to be made available online and accessible
Study Online
We offer a sliding-scale contribution approach to make this learning accessible to the everyone. Please communicate whatever way you feel you can pay/contribute and also offer your skills and time. Whether you’d like to contribute more physically in construction and/or professional skills/advice or are interested to assist in developing aspects of our inclusive programs. We are committed to finding ways to collaborate which are mutually beneficial for everyone. You can also pre-pay your program fully or partially to assist us in preparations, ready for your arrival and participation… Email us for more info workshops@bamboocreative.org
Check out our Facebook page for our latest activities or go see our MAIN WORKSHOPS PAGE
Unite the Tribes
Through International collaboration, UNITE THE TRIBES is a project geared towards sharing knowledge and resourcing tribal/indigenous people to build/form homestay networks by bringing the finance/capital needed for them to build local sustainable livelihoods; and thereby discourage the need to sell their traditional land (current predominant trend of dispossession and increasing “urban poor populations”).
There are many factors that affect uptake of sustainable building, resource use and technologies in developing regions. Apart from access to knowledge about sustainable building technologies and techniques, one major roadblock is that banks won’t lend money to people in SE Asian countries unless their house is made of cement and tile (i.e. has a “resale value”). It’s not surprising then that bamboo is perceived as being just for “poor people” (or only for the “very rich”) . Local wages and current currency exchange rates also have a huge effect on affordability of any kind of material and technology that could make people’s homes and livelihoods develop towards global goals which the “west” professes are essential for future sustainability.
By sharing important knowledge and assisting developing countries to finance sustainable enterprises through creating sharing complimentary relationships which preserve local cultures and reduce the potential impacts of “economic development” we can help to slow the manic train of development and resource exploitation. In most developing countries, knowledge is lacking about making Bamboo a viable building material because it usually only lasts 5-7 years before insects demolish it. Most ‘modern’ treatment methods for preserving bamboo are too expensive for people in developing counties living on local wages to afford. What if it could be made affordable? What if we can share and demonstrate the value of how bamboo can be utilised and adapted to the “modern” environment in a way that people in “developing” (post-colonised) countries can see how such goals can be applied by them?
We NEED to be sharing this technology and making partnerships to maximally AFFECT and bring about CHANGE immediately and effectively/efficiently while building trust and creating lasting partnerships for peaceful global relations. I’m referring to not only preservation methods for bamboo but also low-tech sustainable technologies such as water pumping and storage, waste management and diversified food production.
We MUST facilitate rural upliftment, improved living conditions, affordable technology, education on pollution reduction, and assistant in developing income through sustainable livelihoods (pumping water without electricity, low-cost water storage, renewable electricity generation, bamboo preservation, Earthship building and Zero-waste systems).
We are creating projects giving experiential learning opportunities in Bamboo Design, Preservation, Building and Construction to people from the “global north” where they can directly contribute to the betterment and ecological sustainability and development with our local and regional project partners (“sister projects”) and aim to share a knowledge base of peer to peer Resources for Ecologically Intelligent Economies to speed up the process of innovation and change globally.
Eastern cultures have plenty of Time, but no money; Western cultures have plenty of Money (comparatively), but no Time… If we could bring together our needs, and make a mutually beneficial solution that can be sustained and bring about a greater sense of family… perhaps we could indeed build a bridge and a trust (legally or in good-faith) – an Ecological Enterprise which surpasses our capitalistic needs/expectations and which serves us at a more truly human level…
Let’s invest COLLABORATIVELY in a way where-in which we may learn from and benefit each other and Thrive as a human species.
You can become a part of this project to initiate change and create the foundational steps of our partner projects. Through the establishment phase, and during this critical time as global food supplies are becoming less reliable and income from foreign/international “trade”/tourism can not be relied upon… We are creating Bamboo Creative Enterprise to have membership levels which are inclusive and fair – ranging from Fiscal to Physical and other In-Kind contribution methods.
Our AIM is to Restore the Balance and regain a grasp on the reigns of Corporations Law and create structures which serve people and communities and can usher in the establishment phase of Regeneratioon of cultures and environments and avert the current decay/deficiencies of our world. Ultimately we are all determining what will unfold in the next quarter century – which is vital to whether we will see waves and networks of regeneration and thrivation or further decay and disempowerment/ isolation through what we give our interest/attention to, and choose to participate in and/or give our energy to/towards.
Become a PAID member and gain access to our Bamboo Creative Bali Online Facebook Group with all the materials we will be sharing with start-up projects and receive special access to our programs.
Join Us!!!
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Contribute NOW towards Solar Wells for Kenya and Uganda…
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See more information on our Outreach Programs page and sign up for Updates if you want to attend our Upcoming programs in Africa. Or if you would like to join us in Bali, indicate Internships on the form above. You can also opt that your donation contributes towards local community memberprograms in Indonesia or Africa.
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
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We are working to provide solar wells for our sister projects in Kenya and Uganda… through our network connected with organizations there helping people to farm Organically, Syntropically and Regeneratively… East Africa is about to experience one of the severest droughts on record. Let’s Unite to bring healthful abundance and building experiences together with local villages for the children of Earth. Right now we are preparing to bring Bamboo Building Skills to Africa in December 2023 for 3-4 months. And we are in the process of mapping local populations and impact of solar well pump installations to access artesian water!!!
Our Outreach bamboo learning program will start this December in Egypt – and then continue to Uganda and Kenya. We aim to bring bamboo construction relevancy to the local level through local programs on-the-ground 🙂 We are working with local community organizations, coordinators who are planting bamboos with local farmers and also some established bamboo farms – to help make bamboo the sustainable building material of the future – for all the world’s people.
Our Sister Projects – Uganda:
This project in East Uganda, founded by Joel Odongo is a Women and Youth Empowerment Project. Joel reached out over a year ago having been granted an area of land in his local community to develop his community project vision for a Bamboo and Recycled Plastic Eco-Enterprise to enable the Revivement and Regeneration of his local community and empower Youth and women to take an active environmental and economic role in uplifting their community’s quality of life and sense of cohesion and rebuild “ownership” of their community lives through Helping their community as a whole. (All the people I have spoken to via video call have a strong sense to help their community). We need help to build the central community building and water infrastructure and Joel’s community members have already made 20,000 clay bricks!!! and establish the bamboo and plant nursery. You can help by donating here:
So far we have been working on sharing techniques for building smokeless stoves in people’s homes. (Smoke inhalation causes health problems mainly in women, who do most of the cooking, as stoves are located inside people’s homes and cooking fuels are wood and charcoal). Deforestation, even just around the village is an issue as there is no sustainable reserve for cooking fuel… so we are working on a Charcoal Briquette Brigade – a small enterprise which will earn an income for its members through sales of briquettes, and utilising agricultural waste from peanut, rice hull and maize to make the briquettes so no further tree loss needs to happen. (Joel and I have learned a lot about each other’s cuisines and cooking styles as Indonesia and Uganda share quite a similar climate and crops … a few of our conversations have turned momentarily entirely gastronomical… ;-)… it happens). This project is currently actionable and needs financial support for purchase of materials for project infrastructure and the community is providing labour in-kind:
CONTRIBUTE here or read more : https://wordpress.com/post/bamboocreative.org/4679
Uganda has a very large resource of bamboo vegetation, but not much is known locally about how to use it…. and that is the main area Joel is seeking knowledge and support in to enable his community to build a community centre from bamboo and recycled materials. We aim to facilitate knowledge transfer of appropriate uses and growing methods, planning and sustainable management of bamboo for local communities such as Joel’s. If you would like to request access to our knowledge base, please send a request to outreach@bamboocreative.org
There are many “reports” available online about the “commercial” potential of a bamboo “industry” in Uganda. Essentially the mindset of these reports hinge of capitalistic logic of seeing/using local people as a workforce for deriving profitable returns via “export”. What we aim to create instead are locally-owned ventures which create tangible value for the makers as well as production of something that actually enhances the quality of life and sustainability of local economies. Though still having commercial application – we hope to work alongside local communities and project partners to Grow community industries which empower local people and regain a co-ownership model with fair profit-sharing and incentives towards Real Sustainable Growth and Socio-economic Enterprise.
An abundance of plastic waste is also available to utilise locally…. and we aim to facilitate fusion between traditional weaving skills and techniques for upcycling plastic waste to come up with unique value-added innovative products that enable the makers to brand their product directly (and to not pose as a third party “innovator” ourselves – but give direct responsibility to the makers and just help create a platform for them to market their products). We would love to connect with other organisations with similar interests and aims appreciate advice to help further the project goals. If you are an innovator interested in becoming involved with this project and partnering with communities or individuals within them to develop joint-ventures, please get in touch. We would love to hear from you!
Philippines – Palawan – Salacot Waterfalls /Napsan Area
Living in Palawan sparked my interest in bamboo; I wondered why it wasn’t being used more by locals – and as to what are the barriers to bamboo becoming a sustainable building material there. Presently, most local people can’t see how bamboo can be of benefit to them. Bamboo workers are generally still low-paid and the practical skills and expertise are being lost at a rapid rate (it’s not seen by locals as an ‘attractive career prospect because it’s low-paid. Further, bamboo may become an industrialised and mass produced “product”, so to maintain it’s value and the art of working with it – we must facilitate it’s cultural revival and enable developing country populations fairer deals around the sales process and improve worker salaries/empower the formation of local businesses to trade themselves rather than the current model where the makers of products receive something around 10% of the end sale-price…. Shipping fees out of developing countries currently work to ensure that middle men are the ones making the mark up and prevent local businesses themselves from trading independently – keeping them on “poor” salaries basically as most traders “buy low; sell high” – it’s the Capitalistic way.
Background
I have a promise to a family in the Napsan area of Palawan to bring low-tech affordable water technology to their tribal village area – where there is so much water but they have no electricity and no way to pump it up the hill so every day are carrying water which is impractical and unnecessary… My plan while living with this family was to build a little homestay with them to give them a source of income they could utilise instead of having to go to the city to work… but the termites were phenomenal (this is what initially brought me to Bali – to learn about bamboo treatment). But first, they needed running water…
Even though there is plenty of pristine water close-by, the families carry it up to the houses manually each day in gallons. We purchased polypipe and tried to set up a gravity-feed from a nearby spring – but the ‘head’ wasn’t high enough (also there’s no electricity so an electric pump wasn’t feasible). I abandoned the project to find the knowledge we needed, and when the opportunity arose, I invited a Philippino friend to come to Bali and learn about it so we could take the skills back there.
In October 2017 Richard Tercio joined us from the Philippines to learn about renewable technologies at the Bali Appropriate Technology Institute with Rus Alit. Topics covered included Hydrolic Ram Pump (pumping water without electricity) and Water Filtration, Our plan: To make OUTREACH tours to the Philippines – to visit and share this technology with others in need of it both in Palawan and areas in the mountain behind Manilla; Learn more and experience local lifestyle and skills to do with traditional making of rattan, nipa palm, bamboo; and, hopefully help set up a bamboo treatment facility, make a building collaboration and encourage “trash innovation” !
Become part of this project and help further the goal of sharing renewable technologies and knowledge of treatment methods for making bamboo a long-term sustainable building material/resource in developing countries through low-cost low-tech bamboo preservation and treatment processes for village-scale sustainable bamboo developments. Contact Us for more info.
Taking solar lamps to families of the Batak tribe in Palawan, Philippines… Finding a need and going on an adventure with a friend who wants to help and see remote village life…
This is me and my awesome friend Sameh, who I met on the Tacloban Earthship Volunteer Build in Philippines in 2015 after Typhon Yolanda/Hyan. Sameh works for a Muslim AID organisation in Kuwait and asked me to help him take solar lights to some “poor people in a remote area” of Palawan (where I was living with my daughter during 2016). “Coincidentally”, I had just been on a visit to the Batak Tribe area for their annual Wild Bee Honey harvesting festival… and actually the tribal elder requested that I bring solar lights on my next visit there… It was Sameh’s vacation time from work and he wanted to see some beautiful places and help people (don’t you love that…!?). I organised things and we visited the tribal area and distributed solar lights bought locally in the town of Puerto Princessa.
I have some reservations about the quality of solar lights and what will happen to the batteries when they die… as well as the plastic parts etc. I’ve been blessed to have been put in touch with Akarsh of BePolite, a solar technology innovation project in India, originating in Calcutta where previously, on nightfall, it was difficult for street-stall holders to operate and little dangerous. Akarsh and his team have developed a highly portable and robust solar lamp kit with 2 lamps and a usb output which serves the needs of street vendors perfectly… and could probably be utilised in Indonesia quite well at this level… a little different from Sundaya who are a local brand of solar lamp and technology manufacture suited to household systems.
And I came across POWERWELLS who are developing small solar systems using recycled laptop batteries for remote communities and up cycled torches (bamboo) which cost around $1 to produce. These systems stand to create much less waste and enable more people to “charge” devices and to make solar lights themselves. We would like to help make use of old laptop batteries in Indonesia and make an incentive program for local people, especially where there is no trash collection, to sequester any single-use plastic waste into ECOBRICKS and bring rewards in the form of sustainable technologies such as these to help our planet and give solutions to the plastic “throw-away” problem littering our societies.
In upcoming Outreach Adventure tours, we aim to bring this technology to our communities with ECOLEADER PROGRAMS and ECOBUILDER TOURS to make structures from natural/recycled materials where small solar systems can be installed centrally in the community… where people can charge their phones/solar lamps (One Powerwells system can charge around 20-30 mobile phones/solar lights per day). We are currently working on the incentive of Ecobrick Exchange…. to reward communities for taking ANTI-POLLUTION measures to dispose of waste and SHARE knowledge and education about encapsulating and keeping trash OUT of our natural ecosystems through Ecobrick-building.
Contact Us if you’d like to get involved!
See our Workshop Page for details on other upcoming training, workshops and events currently available.
Bamboo Creative Bali 
These are amazing projects.
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